Welcome to Velvet Gladiators!

This is a doctoral research project conducted at Oxford Brookes University.

For now, this website provides a brief overview of the project and an invitation for you to consider participating.

What is this project about?

This research explores the impact of coaching on the lives of cisgender gay men.

What’s the background and objective of this research?

While the world has made progress in political and societal acceptance of LGBTQ+ people, these changes have not been evenly experienced across different regions. Many within our community still face significant challenges.

My research aims to understand the experiences of cisgender gay men who have undergone coaching. I want to explore how this group engages with coaching, whether sexual orientation plays a role in the coaching process, and how coaching can best support them.

Since little research exists on this topic, I hope to provide deeper insights into the stories of this community. My goal is to contribute valuable knowledge that can help coaches and other professionals better support cisgender gay men.

To ensure the research remains feasible, I have chosen to focus on a specific segment of the LGBTQ+ community: cisgender gay men.

Once the Ethics Committee approves the study, I will begin recruiting participants for interviews.

Who is conducting the research?

I’m Rafal—though you can call me Raf. I am a cisgender gay man in my mid-40s. After many years in the corporate world, I transitioned to working full-time as a coach and trainer.

If you’d like to learn more about me, you can visit my website.

I embarked on this doctoral research to collect and share the stories of cis-gay men from around the world. My hope is to highlight both the challenges we still face—both as a community and as individuals—and the ways in which coaching can help us overcome them.

How can I participate or just learn more?

If you’re interested in taking part or simply want to learn more, please feel free to reach out to me. Your confidentiality is guaranteed.

📩 Contact: hello@velvetgladiators.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Rafal
Velvet Gladiators